


if you were a hue, you’d be a plethora of colors

by cryystal_m00n



Series: we going high (school) [7]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Crushes, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Pining, Teacher-Student Relationship, just FYI, yukhei is 18 and woo is 21
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2019-10-21 15:03:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17645072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cryystal_m00n/pseuds/cryystal_m00n
Summary: if jungwoo had to choose between books and lucas, he would choose the latter.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> so!!  
> first of all, the title is from a poem made by my friend, my fairy, the cinnamon bun that i adore, ju. she is a really talented writer and deserves all the praise  
> https://904am.wordpress.com/2018/10/08/roses-are-violet/ this is the poem, please enjoy her creative ways of using words cause she a whole ass goddess   
> second of all, to use lucas' words, this sucks ass. im sorry. i know its bad but *shrugs*

for as long as he knew, jungwoo loved books. he didn’t care about genre, word count or whether it had pictures or not. he just needed to hold a book, to play with its pages, to inhale the worn out smell in order to feel better, at peace.

he only loved books… until he didn’t. until he met lucas.

 

* * *

 

it was his first day as a highschool teacher, when he ran into lucas. well, lucas ran into him, really. jungwoo was near his car, trying to not bump into anyone or anything since he forgot his glasses at home, the moment someone bumped into him, making him _almost_ fall on his butt, had it not been for them catching him on time.

it wasn’t his fault that the person was stronger than him. he could practically feel their muscles when they hit his chest. they quickly apologized, arms still wrapped around his waist. when jungwoo looked up, he was met with an apologetic smile, the look on their face gentle and sincere. they were beautiful in a way that one would want to write stories about them, to make sure that the whole world will get to experience their beauty. jungwoo felt himself blush.

“ah, it’s ok, really!” jungwoo said, jumping back, trying (and failing) to hide his pink cheeks. 

they leaned in, brushing invisible dust from his chest, before patting it twice.

“i’m lucas, bro! it’s nice to have new students here, y’know? maybe i’ll see you in class, ok?” and before jungwoo could nod, lucas ran past him, yelling after the boy the teacher thinks he was chasing.

did jungwoo really look that young to pass as a student? sure, he may have been just 21, but he _knew_ he had fine lines around his mouth. hell, he’s pretty sure he already had some gray hairs from when he had to take care of his older roommate who couldn’t function on his own. but to have someone think he was a highschool student? that hasn’t happened since… his highschool days.

he shook his head and walked towards the school, smiling at the children and holding doors open for them. he heard them whisper among themselves, he felt their shy glances and all he could do was nod at them, hoping that he didn’t look mean or uninterested.

when he finally reached his classroom, he sighed. this was it. this was the beginning of a new chapter in his life. he was going to face moody teenagers and sometimes poorly plagiarised papers. he was ready for it all.

he pushed the door open, eyes immediately falling on the man that was seated, head hidden behind a book. he coughed once, making him jump and close his book suddenly.

“i’m sorry!” he said, standing up, bowing to the teacher, “i wanted to find a quiet place to read!”

“hey, it’s fine, don’t worry!” jungwoo assured him, voice gentle and low. “do you have class now?” he asked as he placed his bag on the table, taking out his laptop and notes.

the man shook his head, walking towards him and holding his hand out. “i’m a teacher, but jaehyun, the coach, stole my classroom. and everyone else was too loud in the teachers’ room,” he shrugs, laughing nervously, “i’m kun! the history teacher!”

“jungwoo, literature teacher,” he said, shaking the offered hand.

kun looked down, noticing the time table that was printed on a piece of babyblue paper. “cute,” he mumbled under his breath, before wincing once reading it. “seniors… that sucks, man. there are some really… interesting students.” 

“should i be scared?” jungwoo laughed, talking the list of students and scanning it quickly.

“i mean, i guess yukhei will give you a headache sometimes. he’s rather loud. you don’t want to hear him during their basketball games!” kun smiled, putting his hand on jungwoo’s shoulder and giving it a light squeeze. “good luck!” and with that, he left. 

the teacher looked through his papers again, and indeed, there he was, near the end of the list, _wong yukhei._ he couldn’t imagine someone louder than his old roommate, jongdae, but maybe this boy was up for a challenge. 

he waited for the kids to slowly make their way in, most of them already falling back asleep or holding giants cups of coffee. he flinched when one of them came in, just a minute before the class was supposed to start, screaming something about _‘killing mark sooner or later’_?  

he thought that might be yukhei, but when he looked up, he was met with one panting lucas, hands resting on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

“suck a di-- i mean, suck on a lollipop, yukhei!” a boy, seated in the back, yelled, making the other students laugh. lucas, or _yukhei_ , gave him the middle finger.

when the boy finally managed to breath properly (wasn’t he in the basketball team? shouldn’t he be able to run without problems?), he smiled at the teacher, only to gasp when he noticed _who_ the teacher was.

“fuck,” lucas said under his breath.

 _fuck, indeed_ , jungwoo thought.

 

* * *

 

teaching teenagers was easier than jungwoo thought initially. sure, they were moody and sometimes tried to roast him, but he was better than them. he lived with jongdae for three years, he was used to his and baekhyun’s antics.

one thing they didn’t teach him in school though, was how to put up with lucas. the boy was an enigma to jungwoo. he was an amalgam of emotions. with just a tiny spark he could explode, lighting everything on fire. a beautiful fire, full of loud laughter, of yelled meaningless insults, of snarky comebacks. a fire that lit up jungwoo on the inside, that made him want to a student again, in hopes that he could spend just a moment with the boy.

but he couldn’t.

he cherished his job, he wanted to be responsible and act like the adult that he was, not like a 12 year-old girl with a crush. 

and his plan worked. for two weeks, exactly. after their first paper, a commentary on baudelaire’s poems, he realized that lucas wasn’t that keen on studying, almost his whole paper being copied from mark’s. the only difference was that in lucas’ there were a few ‘poems suck ass’ written on the sides.

when he talked with kun about it, the chinese man said that yukhei didn’t enjoy school, but he did manage to get by. he needed passing grades to still play on the team, and passing grades did he get.

“ _no one_ managed to get him to take an a, woo,” kun claimed one morning, when they were sipping their coffees in the office. “he’s just a lost cause, you know? yeah, he will get a scholarship, but that’s about it, really.”

jungwoo nodded, listening carefully while watching taeyong giggle next to jaehyun. “god,” he groaned as he lifted his cup up, “they’re so… perfect.” kun hummed, eyes lighting up when his phone dinged. “not you too, kun!” the younger whined, making kun chuckle.

“you’ll find the one made for you, too, woo!” jungwoo huffed, rolling his eyes.

he’s pretty sure he already did.


	2. Chapter 2

being lucas’ teacher and not his fellow bro hadn’t stopped the younger from shamelessly flirting with jungwoo. he would always wink at the teacher when their eyes met, be it in class or outside, he would pull the greasy card out and stop the teacher just as he was leaving school to tell him that he _‘looked hot’ ._

he even went as far as inviting jungwoo to one of his matches saying that _‘you’re my lucky charm, mr kim! i need my favorite cheerleader with me’,_ he made sure to wink again after the blatant statement.

jungwoo would be lying if he said the flirting didn’t make him blush. it did, embarrassingly so. he would always have to hide his burning cheeks and avert his eyes in class, or pretend to be warm when kun asked him about it.

he felt like a teenager again; a simple compliment making him unable to think straight for hours, his mind clouded by said remark. it made jungwoo feel embarrassed just by thinking of the countless times that he stayed up thinking about them.

“—you help me?” taeil’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. he looked around, trying to find the elder. when he finally did, taeil smiled at him. “help me?” he pointed to his pile of papers.

jungwoo quickly nodded, standing up and rushing to his side. he picked up half of them, waiting for taeil to give him new instructions.

“we just have to take them to the auditorium, woo.”

“you planning a war or something? gonna make your kids stab the enemy with their violin bows?”

the music teacher laughed, holding the door open for the younger. “something like that.”

“well,” jungwoo grunted, “i hope you’ll put doyoung in the first line, cause that boy is fierce.”

taeil smiled and nodded.

jungwoo heard someone run towards him and before he could look up to see who was in such a rush, his papers were taken from his hands. he lifted his gaze, finding a smiling lucas just besides him.

“gee, mr. kim. these are some big fucking papers… thick, really,” lucas laughed, hoisting them up. noticing taeil, he continued: “ah, mr. moon! let me help you too!”

taeil gave the boy a smile, but waved him off. “you’re too kind, yukhei, but i think those papers are enough for you. woo and i can carry the rest.”

jungwoo took some of them and led them to the auditorium, pushing the door open using his hip. he placed them on a nearby desk, wiping his hands on his gray pair of slacks.

he watched as lucas put the papers next to his, the boy looking rather tense now that the weight was off his hands.

“come on, lu— yukhei,” jungwoo said, walking ahead of the teen. “let’s leave professor moon to his thing, he has a revolution to plan.”

he knew that lucas was running behind him and before he knew it, the boy had already caught up with him. “uh, prof? i wanted to ask you something.”

“yes?”

“could you… tutor me? i feel like i’m way behind the rest of the class and i…” he shrugged, “it’s not cool, you know?”

jungwoo smiled, letting lucas walk in ahead. “of course i will! i’m free on friday, from 6? wait, no. you probably want friday off to spend time with your friends…” he got his phone out, unlocking it and looking through his calendar.

“n-no! friday is great! the sooner we start, the better!”

jungwoo chuckled, taken aback by his student’s excitement. “friday it is!”

maybe lucas was willing to pass his class with a high grade. jungwoo couldn’t be happier.

 

* * *

 

friday came faster than usual. maybe it was just jungwoo’s anticipation that made the time seem to have passed quicker, but he didn’t mind. he was as thrilled as he was anxious. this would’ve been the first time he ever tutored someone older than ten. should he high-five him when he gets an answer right? would that be too much?

he didn’t get to fuss more about it, for there was a knock on his door. he all but bolted to open it, stopping only briefly in front of his mirror to make sure that there are no visible food stains on his shirt. when he deemed it clean, he finally opened the door.  

lucas was sitting there, dressed casually in a simple tee and a pair or joggers. jungwoo would be lying if he didn’t think that lucas had one of the best pair of thighs he had ever seen. he should really ask him his leg routine.

“‘sup, mr. kim?”

jungwoo chuckled, opening the door wider to let him come in. he noticed how the younger was carrying a tupperware in his right hand. he quirked an eyebrow, question already on the top of his tongue.

“mom made brownies! and she said that i should bring some to the teacher that is willing to teach me… so…” he thrusted it into jungwoo’s hands, looking away quickly.

jungwoo took it, smiling gratefully even if the boy wasn’t looking at him. “thank you, yukhei. that’s lovely, i will go put some on a plate, you go make yourself at home in the living room.” he waited for him to nod and start taking his shoes off before he left to the kitchen.

when he came back, lucas was already seated on the floor, looking through the books that jungwoo had set on the table. he looked confused while trying to read his way through some of shakespear’s sonnets. the image was adorable, seeing such a big person frowning at a tiny book, head tilted to the side in an attempt to understand it better. jungwoo almost cooed.

”why was shakespear talking like _that?_ who thought that it sounds good? what does any of it even mean?”

jungwoo laughed, sitting down next to lucas and giving him the plate of brownies. he had a taste of them in the kitchen, and he could tell that those were the brownies they served in heaven while you sat on clouds and tiny beagles kissed your face.

“so, where should we start?” he asked, pulling out the notes that he had already taught to lucas’ class.

lucas pushed the plate away, opening his notebook. jungwoo could see that it was all empty, apart from doodles and what looked like lyrics.

“i… i haven’t really been paying attention in your classes, sir. i’m not that keen on… poetry and shit,” lucas admitted, playing with his thumbs on the table.

“ah, it’s ok. poetry can be a bit of a bitch sometimes,” jungwoo laughed at the younge’s surprised expression. “i can curse, yes.”

“holy shit, bro…”

“now,” jungwoo said as he took one look over his sheet of paper, “should we start with hugo?”

lucas, still looking confused, but now with a touch of scared, nodded. the teacher clapped, before turning back to his serious mode.

he was going to make lucas if not enjoy, at least understand his course. he was going to show the boy how pleasurable books could be.


	3. Chapter 3

hours and hours of tutoring seem to pay off when jungwoo finally got to correcting lucas’ paper. it was a simple one, an essay on any universe made by their favorite author; it represented less than 10 percent of the final note, but to jungwoo, it meant so much more. 

firstly, he got to see if his kids truly understood what he was talking about during his classes and not just pretending to do so, in order not to get yelled at by jungwoo. not that he could even get mad at his students. he only ever got mad at kun and jaehyun, that’s it. secondly, he finally saw the payment of staying up late to make plans so that lucas could understand the topic from the first try. albeit, he stopped doing that after the third one, because it was almost as if lucas was studying on his own too, not just with jungwoo.

most often than not, he came prepared, pleasantly surprising the young teacher. it was something he had longed to see from the moment he had the talk about the basketball player with kun. still, he didn’t utter a word to his fellow teachers. he wanted to keep this a surprise. 

and boy, was he surprised the moment he had finished reading lucas’ paper. the minimum of grammatical mistakes, almost no paragraph that could be found in mark’s paper (it did help that they chose different authors, but still, jungwoo counts it as a win when he doesn’t find any pompous words in it), and great examples from the books murakami had written, made jungwoo give him an almost perfect grade. 

he couldn’t wipe the shit eating grin plastered on his face on the way to work the next day. 

kun, ever the observant one, quirked an eyebrow the moment he had seen him. he pushed his own papers aside (jungwoo could see he wasn’t actually grading tests, but planning his wedding, something he’d been doing for months now) and petted the seat next to him twice, grinning back at jungwoo when he sat. 

“did you suck a dick? did you get your dick sucked?”

joohyun barged in the conversation, “did you find a way to pay your mortgage without having to die?”

“did you get to see your husband wake up and realize you love him even more than before?” jaehyun said. 

“did you make a kid happy because you’re gay?” sunmi said. 

“no to all of them, you idiots! not everyone has your weird first world problems!” jungwoo groaned, putting his laptop bag on the table and taking a single paper out. he could hear joohyun mutter under her breath that everyone had to pay mortgage sooner or later. ignoring the older woman, he showed them the red mark on it, a ninety out of a hundred, and pointed at the name written on the side, a loud and proud wong yukhei. 

kun almost spat his coffee once he read the name. “what the  _ fuck?! _ ” he grabbed the paper and held it close to his face, squinting to read it even better. “ _ what the fuck? _ ”

“it’s called not giving up on your student ladies,” jungwoo posed, snatching the paper back and sticking his tongue out at the elder. 

damn, it felt good to show everyone how wrong they could be. 

 

* * *

 

the moment lucas stepped in his classroom, all of his attention shifted towards the younger. he was sporting a bisexual flag across his shoulders, looking prouder than jungwoo had ever seen him. the teacher couldn’t stop the smile creeping on his face, not even when lucas winked at him as he took his usual place in the back of the class. 

mark clapped his shoulder, whispering something to the taller man which made him blush; quite a sight for jungwoo. 

standing up, jungwoo made sure every student was present, before clearing his throat. he doesn’t bother calling the attendance, not when he could see that every single one of his kids was there. jungwoo had a reputation, well, more like his students did. in all three months of teaching, he never got an absentee. kun said it’s because everyone has a crush on his puppy-like face, but jungwoo counter attacked with the fact that the youth likes books.

“i have your papers right here,” he said, holding the stack of white, boring paper in his hand. they flap around, some with creases more obvious than others. “and i have to say,” he continued, resting on his desk like the cool teacher he thought he was, “i’m quite happy with them.”

sighs of relief and loud cheers erupted in the classroom. he could see lucas say a quick prayer, to which he had to hide a chuckle with a really sexy cough. he’d seen that in movies, so he must look as hot as lee dongwook. 

names came flying out of his mouth, students standing up and walking to the front to retrieve their essays. some left with subdued reactions, a slight smile or an almost passing fist pump, but others, went back to their places with loud cheers, a show for the whole class. 

the moment jungwoo reached lucas’ paper, his face softened, calling out his name lightly. the boy walked over to jungwoo, nervously biting down on his lip. he took the paper, glanced at it, and to jungwoo’s surprise, calmly walked back to his seat. 

no parade, no singing, not even the crack of a smile. not what he had expected, but still, jungwoo passed the rest of the papers, before going head first into the new chapter, the golden age. 

it’s after he finished the class, dismissing all students and bidding them goodbye, not without remembering them to read the next fifty pages, when lucas finally approached him. he looked almost shy, had jungwoo not been able to find a better word. 

“mr kim… are you sure you didn’t make a mistake?” the question confused jungwoo, who briefly checked his notes again. could he had made a mistake?

“what do you mean, yukhei?”

“the… the grade… isn’t it too high? i’m sure you didn’t mean to give me a ninty--”

“i did, actually. your essay was one of the best this time and it was a great surprise to see that. i’m really proud of you, yukhei. you did well,” he gave the younger a smile, but it was quickly replaced with a frown when he noticed that lucas was crying, tears streaming down his face at a rapid pace. 

not knowing what to do, jungwoo wrapped his arms around the younger, hoping that this would help him calm down. he had always been an empathic person and it truly pained him to see lucas in such a state. 

the tears didn’t stop, but still, the younger pushed him back, trying to wipe them away. he looked like he was still in need of a hug, but jungwoo didn’t want to push his luck. 

“i-i’m sorry, sir. god, this is so embarrassing,” he said, pulling the flag closer around his body, as if it could protect him from everything. 

“what is it, yukhei? did i do something wrong?” jungwoo fiddled with his fingers, looking for any sign of discomfort written on the younger’s face. he found none, just… something akin to sadness, yet far from it. something almost like relief, laced with disappointment. it confused the teacher so much more. 

“i…” lucas took a deep breath, “i never really got this grade before, sir. even if i tried to do well on a test or paper, the teachers either thought i was cheating or just straight up ignored it, thinking i couldn’t be able to form a smart sentence. i’ve always been the dumb jock, the overexcited puppy, the kid who can only make others laugh and that’s it.” he wiped another tear that threatened to fall, “thank you for not giving up on me, mr kim… it means a lot, jungwoo,” he whispered the last part, almost as if just by saying his teacher’s name he could get in trouble. 

jungwoo smiled, his hand reaching for the younger’s. he squeezed lightly, before letting go and rearranging the flag so that it had no wrinkles anymore. 

“you’re a smart kid, yukhei. don’t let others tell you otherwise…” he looked around, despite them still being in his classroom, before leaning in, “if they do, you send them my way and i will fight them all, understood?” 

that put a smile on lucas’ face. nodding, he said, “i can fight them on my own, sir.”

“where’s the fun in fighting alone, yukhei, dear?” jungwoo asked, smiling sweetly at the boy. 

lucas frowned. “did one of your dead friends say that, mr. kim?”

and jungwoo could only laugh.

 

 

* * *

 

the teacher watched as lucas scribbled something down, a recreation of what he had just said about dostoevsky. he could make up at least three different spellings of his name, but at least lucas was writing everything down. 

he had gotten lost in thought, his mind travelling way too fast, in a way too short period of time. jungwoo didn’t even realize the way lucas held his hand up, waving it back and forth, trying to get jungwoo back. 

shaking his head, he said, “did you finish it? shall we move on?”

lucas stared at him, a frown on his face. “are you ok, mr. kim?”

“yep! i was thinking of the new test i have to make,” jungwoo lied with a small smile. he placed his hand on top of lucas’, hoping that this would convince him he’s ok. 

the younger didn’t let it go, however. he lifted his hand up, placing it on top of jungwoo’s forehead, his whole body moving closer to his. despite lucas not being that much bigger than jungwoo, the elder felt suffocated by his presence. 

“yukh--”

“you don’t have a fever, that’s good.” he didn’t take his hand back. “maybe we should stop for tonight…”

jungwoo saw the idea bloom inside lucas’ brain, the little mechanics in it turning and trying to actually  _ think  _ it through. but he didn’t; lucas was young, of course he acted without thinking. 

he started leaning in, slowly, slowly, closing the already insignificant distance between them. the same way as lucas, jungwoo moved on his own accord, pushing the younger away. 

“lucas, you  _ can’t _ .”

“i-- you’re right, you’re my teacher, it’s not ok,” lucas said, putting a distance between them. “but still, sir, i  _ know  _ my feelings, and i’m certain i like you.”

jungwoo shook his head, not wanting to let him finish, should the younger get his hopes up. 

“ _ if,  _ they don’t go away by the time i graduate… will you give me a chance then?”

jungwoo wanted to say no, he  _ should’ve  _ done so. but a part of him, the selfish one, stopped him. he blamed it on the idea that lucas would grow out of this admiration, this puppy crush. 

“okay,” he said, voice soft.


	4. Chapter 4

jungwoo was surprised when, over the course of the next two months or so, he realized that lucas was truly willing to keep up his grades. he saw him more and more often in the school’s library, when he was helping sunny rearrange the books in the back shelves, he caught glimpses of him with notes in his lap during lunch, he noticed how even his fellow colleagues kept on praising the star athlete on his performances during class. 

it was kun, who was the first to break.

“you know how i’ve been really stressed lately?” he asked one day, while he was busy munching down on one of the croissants his fiance packed for him. jungwoo, still immersed in his book, just hummed. 

“you mean how you’ve turned into a bridezilla?” henry chuckled, dodging the dirty napkin thrown at him from the other side of the room.

“first of all, fuck you!”

“he didn’t deny it,” sunyoung said. another napkin thrown, this time, jungwoo’s unused one. 

“continue kun. don’t mind them,” jungwoo sighed. he took away the very few paper towels left within reach of the elder. 

“anyways! so one day the seniors were being annoying, as always, with yangyang as their mascot--”

“you love that kid--”

“ _ jungwoo. _ ” said man lifted his hands in surrender. “i gave them a pop-quiz from the next chapter. don’t worry! i wasn’t planning on counting their grades as an actual one since i knew most, if not all, would suck ass.”

“where are you going with this?” the literature teacher asked, reaching for the long forgotten pastry. 

“well, i was bored last night and wanted to have a good laugh, so i looked through them. just as i thought, trash. but then i came around one certain paper. wanna know whom it belongs to?” jungwoo hummed again, mouth full of crumbly, delicious croissants. “ _ wong yukhei _ .”

jungwoo, already used to lucas getting better grades, didn’t quite think much of it, in the beginning. but then, as he washed down the pastry with stale coffee, he came to the realization of what kun was saying. he, quite literally, choked. 

kun was quick to pound on his back, a laugh bubbling in his chest. still, the elder had the smallest amount of compassion to not laugh at his friend’s near death experience. 

“wait! yukhei studied in advance!? for history too?” the words felt as wrong as they did right, coming out of jungwoo’s mouth. the pride he felt when it came to lucas grew tenfold. 

“right? i was just as surprised!” 

while still coughing and trying to get his lungs to function again, jungwoo asked, “you’ll give him the mark, right?”

“hm? yeah, of course! it’s not often wong yukhei gets a perfect grade in history, woo,” kun laughed. 

jungwoo had no doubt. his heart was full of joy for the younger. 

 

* * *

 

the second one to realize that lucas has taken a strange interest to anything academic related, was jaehyun. the coach, from his own dramatic interpretation, was heading to taeyong’s office when he saw the unusual sight. 

the sight, consisted of lucas, arms full of papers and books heading to the library. his star athlete didn’t even notice him, despite jaehyun holding a door open for the younger. he was so focused on not dropping his study material, while carefully listening to the audiobook playing from his headphones - jaehyun swore on jeff, his and taeyong’s trusty saint bernard baby, that he was listening to  _ the great gatsby _ \- that he had failed to notice his coach staring at him, dumbfounded. 

through hysterical laughter, jungwoo somehow manages to pat his friend on the shoulder, a  _ ‘get used to it’  _ being the only advice he could give the elder. 

 

* * *

 

after that, jungwoo stopped keeping a count of which of his colleagues lucas managed to surprise. he just simply watched from the side as lucas’ grades continued to keep the same consistent level, not even once dropping. 

 

* * *

 

“yukhei, i need to talk to you,” jungwoo said as his students left the room in a hurry to not waste a precious moment of their break. 

lucas looked up from where he had mark in a chokehold. he let go of the smaller boy, telling him that their showdown would continue during practice. he all but skipped to the front of the class, coming to a sudden stop in front of jungwoo’s desk, the grin on his face never faltering. 

“yes, prof? everything ok?”

jungwoo smiled, “i don’t think you need any more tutoring, yukhei. from what i’ve heard and seen myself, you’ve been studying ahead of the classes.”

just then, did lucas’ smile fall. “what? no, sir, look, i still need that. i haven’t been studying ahead, i just… read stuff when i was bored. please don’t cancel our sessions,” he rushed to say, pleading jungwoo to change his mind with big, puppy-like eyes. 

“but… i don’t understand, yukhei. now that you’re actually studying, wouldn’t our tutoring be a waste of your time?”

“please, mister kim. i’ve been studying because  _ you  _ motivate me, sir. our sessions aren’t a waste of my time. if you don’t want to tutor me anymore, i’ll accept and do everything on my own, but they’ve helped me a lot over the course of these past few months. but, like i said, in the end it’s your decision.”

jungwoo was impressed. with the way the younger had acted in the beginning, he thought he would end up begging him to not do it, but the approach he ended up having, was way more mature than anything jungwoo was expecting. 

“well, i don’t want to stop it, not when you says it’s helping you. but, if it does become too much, with practice, finals and the whole uni stress, you can tell me and we’ll find a compromise, ok?” he asked, watching as lucas nodded along. 

“fuck yes! i mean, i’ll tell you everything, sir! don’t even worry about it!” lucas said, mockingly saluting the teacher. he left the classroom after, a skip in his step just like before jungwoo almost crushed his mood. 

jungwoo watched the door close, before he let himself fall down on the chair. 

life as a teacher was way too hard for the shitty salary he got out of it.  


	5. Chapter 5

the moment jungwoo set his foot down in the room was the moment all hell broke loose. kun stood up, sending his chair fumbling down, taeyong tried to pull him back down, joohyun poured her fifth cup of coffee, even if it was barely eight in the morning, henry dropped his avocado tortilla, taeil stopped trying to get his phone to make cohesive notes on the shitty piano app he used, cursing out loud and amidst this hell, jaehyun was just watching dog videos on his phone, clearly unbothered. 

jungwoo felt just like that gif of donald glover bringing pizza back to the apartment, only to find it on fire. 

“i’ve got you a date!” kun yelled, rushing to jungwoo’s side and dragging him to their usual table. “i’m the bestest friend ever,  _ i know _ !” he kept going.

taeyong gave him an apologetic look. it was clear that the nurse tried to stop kun from his game of cupid, but when kun put his mind to something, no one could even dare to stop him. he was as stubborn as anyone could get, but even more so when he was sure that what he’s doing was right. 

“i don’t want to date, kun, sorry to disappoint,” jungwoo sighed, heading towards the coffee machine to get his second morning dose of crap coffee. joohyun raised her mug in a salute, before slipping another shot of vodka into it and leaving without a single word spoken. 

kun scoffed, “ok, but when was the last time you even went on date, hm?”

“maybe a year ago, i don’t know.”

“a-- a year ago?! even taeyong and jae go on dates and they have s  _ child! _ ”

without looking up from his phone, jaehyun said, “mark is 18, kun, he’s not a child anymore.”

to which taeyong, almost offended, even if he wasn’t even mark’s father (not that jaehyun was, but no one said anything about the love he felt for his younger brother), shot out, “he  _ is  _ a child!”

kun pretended to close the door on the bickering couple, and turned back to jungwoo. “you’ll love him! his name is hyunwoo and he’s tall and looks like a soft bear and he’s the best!”

“if you like him so much, why don’t  _ you _ go on a date with him, hm?”

“because i got myself a man a long time ago and i’m marrying him soon.  _ you _ on the other hand are sad and single and ready to get some action again!”

jungwoo stared into his coffee cup, swirling the liquid around with the spoon he used to stir in the sugar. “i don’t know, kun… i’m really not in the mood to go on dates. the end of the year is right around the corner, i have exams to plan, exams to grade, kids to teach, i can’t, kun.”

kun shook his head, placing his hand on jungwoo’s shoulder. “see? this is your problem, woo. you only have  _ school _ on your mind! you’re not a student, you don’t have to worry about stuff like this!”

taeyong snorted, saying, “didn’t you come into my office because you had a headache about how one of your student might not graduate and you were literally close to crying because you want them all to do well and be happy in the future and--” 

the history teacher closed to invisible door on him again. “as i was saying, don’t worry about the kids, live a little, go have fun, woo. you deserve a break!”

jungwoo pushed his mug away, smiling at kun. “ok, i’ll go on a date with hyunwoo.”

what jungwoo didn’t say was just how wrong kun was. how, besides the students and school work that occupied his mind, there was one more person on it; one person whom as much as he wanted to ignore and pretend that his heart didn’t skip a beat when his face, his voice, his everything surfaced again, was still there, crossing his mind without looking both sides. 

he had to at least try, if he really wanted to get over him. 

 

* * *

 

he wasn’t sure if seeing lucas lean against a locker while talking with yuqi, one of his other, younger students, helped him in the decision of asking hyunwoo when he wanted to meet, but he was sure that if anyone were to ask him about it, he would’ve just had denied it.

 

* * *

 

the date was nice, hyunwoo was indeed a sweet and lovely bear, that, jungwoo could not deny. but… it was  _ too  _ nice. it was exactly how a hangout with a friend would’ve felt. they joked around and talked about their lives and he even let hyunwoo give him a ride home, which ended with a single kiss on the cheek. 

there was no spark, at least on jungwoo’s side. at the end of it all, he just felt like he had made a new friend, which, he hoped hyunwoo was open to being simply friends. at the end of it all, his mind still wondered to lucas. 

and he hated himself for it. 

 

* * *

 

weeks passed, exams got closer and closer, the stress was worse with each day that flew by, but jungwoo couldn’t stop himself from being distracted. everywhere he looked around the school grounds, there was lucas, sometimes surrounded by his friends, sometimes with yuqi by his side. 

petty and childish as most might think of it, jungwoo did get jealous. he got jealous of lucas’ friends whenever they got to see him laugh and joke around without a worry, of yuqi and mark for being near lucas even when he wanted to push everyone away. 

and, since it seemed like the moment he was alone with the younger his left side of the brain left on vacation, of course he  _ subtly  _ voiced his thoughts to lucas. 

“you and yuqi make a cute couple,” he said, when passing lucas the glass of water he’d asked for. 

lucas choked on his breath, coughing his heart out for a few minutes. “we make a  _ what  _ now?”

“a… cute couple?”

the younger stared at him as if he’d grown a second, maybe even third head. he didn’t say anything, just continued to stare. surely, jungwoo wasn’t wrong, right? he was probably just surprised he’d paid attention to what the younger was doing around school, that must be it. 

“she’s like my sister, dude! i’d seen her pick her boogers  _ and  _ eat them. she’s a lesbian, dude! i’m not going around telling lesbians i can turn them straight with my dick!” 

“o-oh, i’m sorry for… for assuming things, yukhei--” lucas kept on gagging, clearly exaggerating everything just to show jungwoo he wasn’t actually mad. 

“besides,” he said once he was done fake-vomiting his last three meals, “i already told you that i have feelings for you, prof.” jungwoo wanted to argue that those must’ve been long gone, but lucas continued, “i know! i know! you’re too old, i’m your student, yada yada yada. but i can’t deny this, ok? the feelings are still here… and… and i don’t know what to do about them, prof…”

jungwoo inhaled once, and as coldly as he could, he said, “you have to get over them.”

“b-but--”

he opened the book, forcefully enough to almost break it. he took a deep breath to calm himself down, but when he looked at lucas, his heart broke. he looked the exact way jungwoo felt on the inside, but times worse. 

“please,  _ xuxi _ . i told you, at the very least… you can push them away until you graduate… you can’t risk being expelled.” he heard mark use the nickname a while ago, and while he did think it was adorable and that it fit lucas a bit too well, he never used it himself. until then. 

“you…”

“now onto the next chapter, yukhei.”

lucas shifted around, opening his notebook again. and in that moment, jungwoo despised himself even more. 


	6. Chapter 6

slowly, spring turned into summer, the flowers that were once blooming already on the ground, dried out. jungwoo liked summertime, it was the only time he got for himself. even as he had exams to prepare, he still enjoyed everything about the season to the fullest. 

summertime meant the end of the school year. summertime, for jungwoo and lucas, was the starting pistol they’d been waiting for. it was only a matter of who reached the finish line first. 

jungwoo was too scared to start running.

 

* * *

 

“hey, how did the date go? you literally haven’t said one word about it, and it’s been more than a month since it happened,” kun said. he was monopolizing the couch in jungwoo’s apartment, all whilst making the younger slave around. jungwoo may have been the host to this unannounced hang out, but kun could still help him not burn the kitchen down. 

“we remained friends!” jungwoo yells from the kitchen. he could’ve gotten away with the normal tone, since the walls were incredibly thin, but he wanted to annoy his friend a bit more.

“dude, stop yelling, i can hear you fine!”

he thought this through for a moment, then he yelled, even louder, “fuck you!”

kun sighed. “if you would’ve started dating hyunwoo, this wouldn’t have happened. you’d be getting dicked down and you wouldn’t make such unorthodox proposals to me.” the elder finally joined him in the kitchen, a book in his hand. “mind if i borrow this? i never got around to reading it.”

“yeah, sure, go ahea-- you’ve never read _ twilight _ ?!” jungwoo was scandalized, what type of person didn’t want to torture themselves by reading the world’s best vampire love story saga? apparently hags like kun. 

“i was into  _ the vampire academy,  _ ok?” he dropped the book on the table, making his way next to the stove where jungwoo was  _ sweating the onions,  _ as gordon ramsey once told him to do in a video.

he could feel kun’s eyes on him, judging every move he made. he still had no idea why his friend appeared in front of his door like an abandoned kitten, but he didn’t really care either. as long as he got to annoy him outside of school, jungwoo counted it as a great thing. 

“why did you tell him you want to stay friends?” it was really a miracle, this new opportunity, until kun opened his big mouth and started asking stupid questions that should not see the daylight. 

jungwoo pushed him off his back, flicking his forehead as he went and grabbed the wine to deglaze the pan. “none of your business, man.”

“all of my business! is there someone else?” the silence from jungwoo was enough of an answer to kun. “ok. i can tell you don’t want to talk about it, so when you’re ready, i’m here, woo,” he said, pushing the younger aside and taking the spatula from his hand. “now please get out, just seeing you try to make a simple bolognese sauce hurts me.”

jungwoo laughed, taking a seat at the table. “thanks, kun.”

“you should be thanking me, you’re right. if it weren’t for me you’d be dead!”

summertime did bring out the love in people. 

 

* * *

 

he moved through the desks, making sure that no one was trying to cheat on this final exam they must take in high school. his students were writing, not even glancing at the teacher walking around them. he was happy, truly ecstatic really. not only were the kids nailing it, or, at least the glimpses he caught were being nailed, but after this, he would be free. 

he tried to push the thought of having to actually grade these papers deep down in his mind, feeding himself fake fantasies about how he would finally be able to relax after one hell of a year. 

passing by lucas’ side, he was surprised to see the paper full of paragraphs after paragraphs. he patted his shoulder twice, before going back on his quest. maybe this was going to end up ok, after all. maybe nothing will happen in the end and both him and lucas would forget about each other and move on with their lives. 

this was what he needed. for the exam to finish faster and for lucas to graduate. 

he went back to his desk, choosing to watch over the students from there. he was too caught up in his own running thoughts to see the lingering glance lucas gave him, before focusing back on the piece of paper in front of him. 

 

* * *

 

lucas passed his literature exam with almost the best grade in his class. when jungwoo realized it, he cried in the teacher’s room for an hour, making everyone, especially taeyong, worry. he didn’t care, he simply wanted to scream it from the top of the biggest building, scream it so loud that the whole world would hear it. 

he helped him, yes, but that wasn’t why he was so proud. he was proud of the way lucas didn’t give up again, of the way he had accepted that he was more than the naive jock image that had been plastered on him. 

jungwoo could not wait to share these news with him.

 

* * *

 

 

the first thing that he had noticed when he stepped in his class room was the heat. sure, the weather was hotter and hotter with each day, but the amount of hot air in his class was alarming, considering that he left the window open when he went on break. the second thing he had noticed was the smell in the air, the pungent flowery scent that merged with the closed air. the third and final thing was the bouquet of flowers resting on his desk, careful placed as to not disturb the neat organized documents and pens on the wooden surface. 

he knew who gifted it to him, and as the person walked through the door, eyes shining, jungwoo couldn’t help but smile, grabbing the exams out of his binder. 

 

* * *

 

lucas ended up yelling so loud that sunyoung had to rush in from next door to see if they were being murdered by one of jungwoo’s boring stories from his college days as if  _ anyone wants to hear about how you skipped two years, woo _ . 

 

* * *

 

watching students graduate had been quite fun, if jungwoo was being honest. there was no more stress of falling down on the stage as he went to accept his diploma, no more anxiety at the simple thought of forgetting parts of your speech, this was the dream to him. 

he smiled as the students gathered in front of the school, ready to take one last picture together. jungwoo could leave, since he was sure no one else needed him around anymore, but he still had to go and take one more box of books from his class, one that he somehow forgot to bring home yesterday.

he went in through the back, not wanting to interrupt the kids from their fun. the school was quiet, something he had yet to experience. it seemed surreal to jungwoo, how the place that was supposed to be full of life was simply a ghost of what it was only a day ago. 

jungwoo wasted no time, heading straight to his class. it was exactly how he left it, to no one’s surprise, with one simple exception; a 1.83 exception, by the name of wong lucas. wong lucas, who was sitting on top of his desk, legs hanging off of it and swinging back and forth. 

“shouldn’t you be with your friends, yukhei?” jungwoo asked, setting his bag down on the chair, lucas’ back facing him. 

the younger ignored his question, shoulders tensing. “i finished my last year,” he said. jungwoo hummed, taking the box out from under the desk. he had no idea how he managed to forget about it when he stabbed his toe in it. “that means… you said… you said that if i still like you… you will give me a chance.”

“would you mind looking at me while you talk, yukhei?” lucas jumped down, turning to look at him. “now you can say it again.” he would be lying if he said he didn’t find the blush spreading across the younger’s cheeks adorable. 

lucas took a deep breath, then, while looking directly into jungwoo’s eyes, he said, “i like you. i still do. i haven’t stopped even for a moment.”

finally in front of the harsh truth, jungwoo had no idea of how to act. he was happy, but he still feared the outcome of this uncanny situation he’d found himself in. could he allow the selfish part of himself to take over for even a moment? this would change his whole life, the future he had in front of him, all of them would have a different ending just because of a small thing he would indulge himself in. a small thing that would turn into something so much bigger, something incomprehensible. 

there were multiple jungwoos across multiple universes, he thought, and at least half of them didn’t let themselves be happy in this exact moment they may had ended up in. jungwoo didn’t want to be like them, he wanted to take a different route, one that would make him complete. 

“i told you i’ll let you take me on a date, right?” lucas nodded. “well, i can’t have that,” he said, watching as his expression shifted into disappointment. “cause, well… i’m the one that should take you out, since i’m older, you know?”

lucas looked as if he didn’t believe anything of what jungwoo just said. so, he did the only thing he could think of, that would make lucas believe him. he kissed him, hands resting on the younger’s cheeks, the desk corners digging into his stomach. 

the summer was here, and somehow, in the end, both jungwoo and lucas found each other at the finish line. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if u made it this far, and ure here since i almost gave up on this, i love you. thank you for reading this and thank you for waiting.

**Author's Note:**

> [twitter](https://twitter.com/cryystal_moon)   
>  [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/cryystal_moon)


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